Linking Science and Social Issues
How AIDS Research: Global Understanding and Engagement (ARGUE) Links Biology and Social Issues
ARGUE is based on a 'pedagogies of engagement' model that not only connects students personally to the material, but pushes them to actively manipulate and assess their knowledge. Active engagement is particularly necessary when teaching non-majors, the majority of who enroll in general education science courses simply to fulfill university distribution requirements. Bloom's taxonomy of learning has recently been modified by Shulman to make the essential nature of student engagement more explicit. Shulman's new taxonomy of learning begins with 'engagement and motivation', which he says should be used "not only to grab but to hold... interest, not only to entice but to instruct". I have explicitly chosen the global AIDS epidemic for this course as the topic is likely to engage students and motivate them to want to understand, and even to take action.
ARGUE also shows students how ideas and issues can cross disciplinary boundaries, using what could be called a "unified course design' strategy where the topic acts as a reverse prism uniting traditionally disparate disciplines.
By weaving in historical, political, cross-cultural, and ethical themes, ARGUE show students both how scientific endeavors can be a product of culture and time, as well as the differential benefits across the globe from "universal" scientific knowledge. Examining how social paradigms direct the scope of scientific inquiry and the validity of its conclusions enables students to see how ideas evolve over time, and hopefully, to assess the status of current scientific inquiry. There are multiple topics within the course, such as anti-retroviral drugs, that 'explode' out into learning from multiple perspectives.
ARGUE also explicitly try to stretch students' understanding by taking them out of their intellectual comfort zone. Analyses of non-intuitive results make them more aware of their subconscious assumptions. Unexpected answers also pique their curiosity about what the forces that shape their world. To this end the course is organized around questions they may not have even thought to ask, such as how technological advancement can enhance the spread of disease or why someone would refuse to take antiretrovirals. I believe that repeatedly challenging their preconceived notions stimulates students to be more open to new ideas. A goal for this course is also to increase a student's sense of 'global citizenry' and an openness to cross-cultural interactions, valuable attributes in an increasingly global economy. The AIDS epidemic offers myriad opportunities to examine cultural responses to health, science, and technology. The course provides the multiple connections to people and topics in Kenya via the internet, post-course travel, and the instructor's personal experiences. The strong emphasis on HIV/AIDS in Kenya throughout the course has led to over 30 students completing service projects in Kenya as well as the development of a new student group on campus dedicated to enhancing health for girls in rural Kenya.
Tyla Fowler after a lesson at Shining Star Primary School in Kenya
Linking Science Concepts and Civic Issues
